Latino Daily News

Telemundo To Launch FIRST EVER Emmy Campaign

In a never seen before move, Telemundo is campaigning hard to get “La Reina del Sur” noticed for Emmy nominations.

After scoring the highest ratings in their history this season, Telemundo is making an effort to put their lead novella “La Reina del Sur,” as well as its star Cate del Castillo in the center of their campaigning for the Emmy awards.

It is rare for Spanish language shows to pursue Emmy nominations/awards for outstanding drama series and outstanding lead actress. Occasionally, Univisión will campaign for some of its content or talent to be recognized, but to date, according to Telemundo, no Spanish-language show has won an Emmy in any of the major categories.

“We think we are going to make history here,” Telemundo president Don Browne said to “The Hollywood Reporter”. “We are going to fight to win, but even if we don’t, we’re plowing the ground for the next person or show to do it. This is important to our industry and to our country.”

La Reina del Sur, based on a novel by Arturo Perez Reverte, has Kate del Castillo playing an innocent Mexican girl who inadvertently becomes a major drug trafficker as a result of a boyfriend relationship. It was shot in HD in locations in Morocco, Mexico, Spain and Colombia.

Browne believes del Castillo’s performance deserves special recognition. “Her performance is as good as I’ve ever seen in my career and I’ve been around for quite a while.”

Telemundo, which is owned by Comcast’s NBC Universal, is planning to make episodes of the show available on the TV Academy’s website (for members with a password to access) in a dubbed version. Also, they will be launching a mailing package of dubbed episodes to Academy members, as well as running “For Your Consideration” English-language trade advertising.